Ring
by groet-havregrynsson
Summary: Post series, Shinji tries to forget.


Disclaimer: I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion.

**Ring**

_Posted March 15th, 2008_

Shinji sighed and dragged a hand along the metal railing to his left, pausing for a moment to look up into the cloudy sky. _It was going to rain._

The surrounding concrete buildings seemed even more grey than usual, reminding him of his monotonous present life. There was a barely perceptible anxiety about the people whom he saw - strides quickened at every gust of wind and hands nervously patted the pocket-sized umbrellas that lay hidden in their jackets, still unaccustomed to sudden rain. The very air felt damp, and there was that slight excitement at the thought of a movie at home with nothing but the weather and muted confessions of love to keep him company. He found himself regressing to the past again and again, lately.

The brunet had just left the store where he worked, a small flower shop hidden amidst the plethora of cafés and super markets and clothing stores that made up the downtown area of where he lived. Today a group of girls had come in and instead of simply choosing what they wanted they had decided to stare at him while he swept the floor clean of dirt and craft supplies. This was becoming far too frequent for his liking. He had chosen this job, and this area, because he didn't want to be recognized by former coworkers or classmates, and he didn't want to accidentally run into any "long-lost friends". He just wanted to be left alone. But recently girls had started to bother him like this, looking for an Email address or for a date, as if it was the most wondrous prospect in the world to socialize with him.

Shinji walked down the sidewalk in quiet contemplation. The air stank of exhaust, and he coughed into the starched-white sleeve of his uniform shirt with a grimace. The required clothing at his workplace was remarkably similar to that of his old high school uniform, and he didn't mind as much as one would think. Change was unnecessary, after all.

Sometimes it was nice simply to walk on his own two feet, sneakers dragging slightly on the cement, the "Ode To Joy" rising and falling in the shell of his ear as he ascended the slight hill towards his apartment. Headphones placed delicately to block all outside sound, repeat repeat repeat, and time passed in an instant as long as the music held him in its grip.

As he reached into this pocket for his keys, mere steps away from the welcome of his front door, he noticed a small metallic object lying on the ground to his left. It was a ring - smooth and cool to the touch but marred with careless scratches. A dull and inconspicuous silver-grey. He frowned to himself, twisting it to see better in the dim light of the hallway, and slipped the newfound item into the back pocket of his pants as he unlocked the door. He barely knew his_landlord_, let alone the other people on this floor, so he had no idea who could have lost it.

There was a message on his answering machine when he walked inside, the red light flashing angrily at him from across the room. A single missed call, and when he listened to it, from an old classmate whom he was surprised to learn was still alive. _Hello? Ikari? I only recently -_

He deleted it mid-play, loosened his tie, and decided to take a shower.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next afternoon found him working in the flower shop again, cutting and assorting ribbons for bouquets. The ring was in his pocket and every so often he fingered it, tracing along the scuffed outer edges as he placed smooth, multicoloured fabric into boxes destined for shelving. Somewhere a small bell chimed – the same girls from the day before were back, he could hear the taps of heels and their high-pitched giggles as they entered – and without thought he slipped the metal band onto his finger as he reached for the scissors again.

The weight felt strange on his hand, but when he turned to answer the stammered question of a University student her eyes were drawn to the glint of the metal and she laughed nervously. He didn't make an effort to smile. A quiet _"…Never mind."_ was uttered into the space between them, and then she retreated to her group of friends who were still huddled together by the front door.

_He's not - girlfriend - still, cute and - go back._

One of them feebly bought an arrangement of flowers, choosing a pale blue ribbon to wrap the wet stems together, and then they left. Shinji sighed and placed another strand of fabric into the box gratefully._This time, they probably wouldn't return._

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

He was walking along the sidewalk, destined for his apartment, when a girl stopped him under the pale, dying light of a street lamp. She smiled, and he was nervous, and _there was something about flowers –_and then she was thrusting herself upon him, kissing him, trying to stick her hands in his hair and on his clothes and invading his personal space completely. He was reminded of a leech, something slimy and disgusting that he wanted no part of. Her mouth tasted like the fish she had eaten for dinner. And Shinji closed his eyes, roughly shoving her away as he did so, wishing for everything to end.

_Hadn't rebuilding his world been enough?_

His hair was mussed, his clothing slightly more rumpled than usual, and one of the grocery bags he had been carrying had a small rip in the bottom of it from being dropped against the concrete. Why did these things always happen to him? He took a step back, flexing his fingers against the cool plastic of the bag handle. He only wanted to go home, and she…

"Can I have your cell phone number?" She asked, her lipstick smeared. Maybe she had been drinking.

"I... don't have one of those." And nervously he set one bag on the ground again, fumbled in his pocket for the ring that he knew lay there. Placed it on his finger. Weakly showed it to her, mumbled something unintelligible. Stared at the ground for a moment until he picked up the grocery bags again.

He walked slowly down the side walk, groping to replace his fallen earbud, trying not to think of _red and grey and "She was - "_

Why now?

His eyes were shut and he stopped, panting, waiting, trying to breathe deeply and slowly and clear his thoughts. Plastic crinkled as it hit the street. _He wanted away from this._ Wasn't it bad enough that every garnet petal, every silver ribbon in that place so blooming with life only served to remind him of -

_Why now?_

He opened his eyes, slightly unfocused, and picked up the grocery bags waiting for him on the cement. More than one bag was torn, now. His bangs were getting too long, almost to the point of impairing his sight.

Tomorrow he would get a hair cut, _and that thought reassured him,_ and he began to walk.

x

Written for school. Prompt: You find a ring on the ground, and it turns you invisible.

What I was going for here was a sort of "Shinji just wants to be left alone" and "Yes, he does still think about Kaworu and NERV and..."


End file.
